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The risk of low risk : First time motherhood, prematurity and dyadic well‐being
Author(s) -
Porter Lauren,
Heugten Kate,
Champion Patricia
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
infant mental health journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.693
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 1097-0355
pISSN - 0163-9641
DOI - 10.1002/imhj.21875
Subject(s) - meaning (existential) , developmental psychology , nexus (standard) , context (archaeology) , psychology , identity (music) , qualitative research , premature birth , medicine , pregnancy , sociology , gestation , psychotherapist , paleontology , social science , physics , genetics , computer science , acoustics , biology , embedded system
Premature birth has a well‐documented impact on infants, mothers and their dyadic interactions. First time motherhood in the context of low risk premature birth—relatively unexplored in the literature—is a specific experience that sits at the nexus of premature infancy, motherhood and the processes that underpin dyadic connection. This qualitative study analyzed semistructured interviews with first time mothers of low risk premature babies. Findings were generated in response to research questions concerning mothers’ meaning‐making, bonding and identity. Findings demonstrated that maternal meaning‐making emerged from a dyadic framework. When mothers or their infants were considered outside of a dyadic context, surplus suffering inadvertently occurred. Findings have important implications for infant mental health practice in medical settings, for postnatal support in the aftermath of premature birth, and for understanding the meaning of risk.